Hopes and dreams are huge factors in the development of modern society ‒ technology is reevaluated, theories that seemed impossible are considered and new ones ideas are adopted. Dreams inspire many people to go beyond society's old norms and question what is normal. Yet during the Great Depression, unlike today, dreams were not always welcome and hopes were often dashed. The characters in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck can attest to this. Yet these characters found a way to use their hopes and dreams as forms of discipline, as a way to build strong relationships, and as something that sets the main characters apart from other characters. Discipline is most often used to help achieve goals. . Human beings tend to indulge in the luxuries of life rather than achieving a seemingly impossible dream. George Milton and Lennie Small, two characters in Steinbeck's novel, are united in the pursuit of the American dream. They often imagine themselves owning a farm where they work only for themselves, "'...[living] on the fatta of the earth[d]'" (Steinbeck 57). However, such a dream does not come without hard work. George, Lennie and eventually Candy have set certain goals for themselves in order to be able to pursue their farm utopia. They must earn the money needed to farm, plan and organize for the future to avoid bankruptcy, and find a way to buy the land before time runs out. With these goals in mind, George recognizes the need to spend his meager earnings wisely and save his money. For this reason, George does not indulge in the finer things in life. For example, George, although fully capable, does not drink himself to death or spend the night in a cat house...... middle of paper ...... his own ranch or live blindly his boring ranch. lives, with drinking and spending time in cat houses. George's wife, Lennie and Curley are distinguished by the fact that they had or have dreams that they wanted or wish to come true. Ultimately, dreams and hopes were a major element of the book Of Mice and Men because, for the characters, hopes and dreams were used as a form of discipline to achieve their goals, as a way to create lasting friendships between characters and, for the reader, as a way to recognize important characters. Dreams and hopes were important not only in the 1930s, but also today, in today's modern society. All that remains for humanity to do is take a leap of faith and go beyond what anyone would imagine possible. Works Cited Steinbeck, John. Of mice and men. New York: Penguin, 1993. Print.